Poor pigs: loved for all the wrong reasons

 

Poor pigs: loved for all the wrong reasons

 

(From a phone call to a bakery):

“Do you want the ones with bacon or the regular ones?”

“Did you say ‘bacon,’ B-A-C-O-N?”

“Yes, I did.”

OMG! and Ai yi yi!  But then . . . why was I surprised?  Last fall, I saw billboards for pricey chocolates, with bacon. Then I noticed the doughnuts at the supermarket café were topped with crumbled bacon. And now, it’s sticky buns with bacon. 

(BTW, I ordered the “regular ones.”)

Pigs don’t have a chance, and I’ve often wondered:  did they ever have a chance?  Despite their being smart, friendly, loyal and playful, the main thing about pigs to most everyone in the world is, alas, their It’s your ribs. I’m afraid they’re delicious.”

What else is there to say? 

Although overall, far more chickens than pigs are slaughtered for human consumption, I’m not aware of people moaning about their love of chicken breasts, wings or legs.  Pigs are another matter, given the incessant rhapsodizing about bacon. or ribs. or ham. or pigs feet.  and even pork rinds – “everything but the oink,” as the saying goes.

If I believed in reincarnation, I’d already be praying not to come back as a pig, “purpose-bred” to be eaten.  And en route to that fate, being raised on a factory farm with routine tail-docking and gestation crates; seen as nothing but dinner in the making – not even a meal ticket, but a meal!

Only consider that a quick Google search for our state’s pig population (pigs + number + NJ) included “pig roast” in each of the eight “related searches.”  They can’t escape it.  For the record, our in-state pigs number around 9,000, according to a Star-Ledger story about gestation crates.  And there are some 300 pig farms – or euphemistic “pork farmers” in New Jersey, according to a Wall Street Journal story. (Surely, you’ve seen little “porks” gamboling in farm yards all over  . . .?!)

It’s no wonder I well up watching videos on The Dodo that feature pigs who escaped from trucks taking them to slaughter.  Saved by caring people, they’re shown living au naturel, frolicking with their new, non-traditional family members: goats, dogs, cats, children . . . . There should be so much more to life than death.  https://www.thedodo.com/pig-dog-goat-video-252913810.html

Besides vegetarians and vegans, here’s what we need much more of in this world.  A few stories like the one below might give pause to people who are just plain pigs for pigs. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/51604

Now that is “some pig!”

 Return to our website for details on what we’re all about

“for the animals” -- http://aplnj.org/food-for-life.php

--Pat Summers

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Show your love: spay or neuter

 

Show your love: spay or neuter

 

 “One cat just leads to another.”  --Ernest Hemingway

Think February and probably think Valentine’s Day: hearts and flowers, caring, love. There’s also World Spay Day on the last Tuesday of the month – this year, Feb. 28.  And building up to that animal-caring and loving day, February is also Spay/Neuter Awareness month!

So, happy Spay/Neuter Awareness month, everyone!  And if that awareness turns into actual spays and neuters for our community cats (and companion animals too), we’ll all be better off.

Why?  fewer community cats out there to worry about and care for and save from shelters (known to be the worst possible places for outdoor/feral/community cats, as well as cats in general)  . . . fewer surprise litters of kittens and puppies at home to place in safe new homes . . .  fewer animals overall with uncertain-to-frightful futures.

You probably already know about “kitten season,” but just in case: Starting next month, it’s the spring-summer (plus!) time of year when kittens seem to pop up everywhere – often without their moms, invariably needing care and shelter, and adding to the overpopulation of homeless cats.  

Preventing kitten litters now is the best way to reduce that feline mob scene later.  That’s a job for Project TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), a key APLNJ campaign that’s close to home, bristling with expertise and known for person-to-person helpfulness. Its comprehensive website section, “New Jersey’s Central Resource for Feral Cat and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Information,” offers specifics on the basics, along with low-cost spay/neuter providers, technical and legal assistance and resources for caregivers, property owners and municipalities.

There’s also “Sponsor Our Spays (SOS) Subsidy program,” which contributes $30 toward the vetting of cats who will be returned outside.  To be eligible, those interested must be members of the Feral Friends of NJ, a no-fee Yahoo group.  For information on joining, email Sandra Obi at feralcats@aplnj.org     

For Obi, Project TNR director, “Sterilization and immunization are the most helpful things anyone can do to help with the issue of cat homelessness and foster the well-being of these cats.”

If you’ve got to be scared into spaying and neutering as many cats as you can, just remind yourself of these facts:  Cats can get pregnant as early as four months of age.  So, unsprayed, a March 1 “kitten season baby” could become a mom by summer’s end because of cats’ nine-week gestation period.  

 

Imperative as it is to cut down on pregnancies and litters among community cats, spay and neuter are also recommended for companion animals.  Sterilizing pets can provide medical and behavioral benefits while helping to curb pet overpopulation.  Too often now, pet homelessness leads to euthanasia of perfectly healthy animals -- so cruel, even to contemplate.   

For Valentine’s day this year, why not skip treats and toys?  Instead, give gifts of spay or neuter to community cats -- and be sure to treat your own pets too.  Show them you love them: spay or neuter.

Return to our website for details on what we're all about

“for the animals”  (http://aplnj.org/projectTNR.php)

 

   --Pat Summers                   

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